Network cabinet

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for mounting electronic equipment is provided having a base frame and an equipment rail mounted to the base frame by a threaded member, which provides an electrical bond between the base frame and the equipment rail.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of patent application Ser. No.11/467,956, filed Aug. 29, 2006 and claims the benefit of provisionalpatent application Ser. No. 60/781,923, filed Mar. 13, 2006.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to network cabinets for cable connections and,more particularly, to grounded cabinets for switching and patchingapplications.

BACKGROUND

There is a need for cabinets that provide cabinet access to the internalportions of the cabinet to install or modify cable connections and toprovide less obtrusive ways to ground the cabinet, as well as otherfeatures that provide efficiencies and conveniences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an improved network cabinet.

In one embodiment, an apparatus for mounting electronic equipment isprovided having a base frame and an equipment rail mounted to the baseframe by a threaded member, which provides an electrical bond betweenthe base frame and the equipment rail.

In another embodiment, a method of mounting an equipment rail to a baseframe is provided which contains the steps of: positioning the equipmentrail adjacent a front to back support beam of the base frame: insertinga threaded member through a hole formed in the equipment rail andthrough an opening formed in the support beam; threading a nut onto thethreaded member: and providing an electrical bond between the equipmentrail and the front to back support beam through the threaded member andthe nut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by theaccompanying figures. It should be understood that the figures are notnecessarily to scale and that details that are not necessary for anunderstanding of the invention or that render other details difficult toperceive may be omitted. It should be understood, of course, that theinvention is not necessarily limited to the particular embodimentsillustrated herein.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the network cabinet of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of the base frame of the networkcabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 2B is an enlarged partial exploded view of the front door mount andbase frame shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C is an enlarged partial exploded view of the adjustable equipmentrail and base frame shown in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2D is a top view of the base member of the network cabinet of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 4A is a bottom perspective view of the base frame of FIG. 2A andtop cover of the network cabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is an enlarged partial view of the base frame and top covershown in FIG. 4A;

FIG. 5A is a top view of the top cover of the network cabinet of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5B is an enlarged partial view of a cable entry knockout shown inFIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 7A is an exploded perspective view of the base frame, top cover,and side panels of the network cabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 7B is an enlarged partial exploded view of the base frame and sidepanel brackets shown in FIG. 7A;

FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the base frame, top cover, and sidepanels of the network cabinet of the present invention, with one sidepanel partially installed;

FIG. 8B is an enlarged partial view of the base frame, top cover, andside panel shown in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 8C is an enlarged partial view of the top cover and grounding clipshown in FIG. 8B;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 10A is a back perspective view of the network cabinet of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10B is an enlarged partial view of the door handle shown in FIG.10A;

FIG. 10C is an enlarged partial view of the back of the door handleshown in FIG. 10B;

FIG. 10D is a back perspective view of the back doors of the networkcabinet of the present invention with an alternative latch mechanism;

FIG. 10E is an enlarged partial view of the alternative latch mechanismshown in FIG. 10D in the open position;

FIG. 10F is an enlarged partial view of the alternative latch mechanismshown in FIG. 10D in the closed position;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in FIG. 10A;

FIG. 12A is a front perspective view of the network cabinet of thepresent invention, with the front door partially open;

FIG. 12B is an enlarged partial view of a safety hinge of the front doorshown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12C is a back view of the safety hinge in FIG. 12B;

FIG. 12D is an enlarged partial view of a second safety hinge of thefront door shown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12E is an enlarged partial view of a front door lifting mechanismof the front door shown in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 12F is a back perspective view of the front door of the networkcabinet shown in FIG. 12A with an alternative latch mechanism;

FIG. 12G is an enlarged partial view of the alternative latch mechanismof the front door shown in FIG. 12F;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 in FIG. 12A;

FIG. 14A is a front perspective view of the base frame of the networkcabinet of the current invention with caster assemblies, cablemanagement units, and slack management spools attached;

FIG. 14B is an exploded, enlarged partial view of a caster assemblyshown in FIG. 14A;

FIG. 15A is a back perspective view of a right hand cable managementunit;

FIG. 15B is a back perspective view of a left hand cable managementunit;

FIG. 16A is an exploded partial enlarged view showing the attachment ofa right hand cable management unit to the base frame of the networkcabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 16B is an exploded partial enlarged view showing the attachment ofa left hand cable management unit to the base frame of the networkcabinet of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 17-17 in FIG. 15B;

FIG. 18A is an exploded partial enlarged view showing the attachment ofa slack management spool to the base frame of the network cabinet of thepresent invention;

FIG. 18B is a side view of the slack management spool shown in FIG. 18A;

FIG. 19 is a front perspective view of two network cabinets gangedtogether;

FIG. 20 is a front perspective view of the network cabinets in FIG. 19,with the front doors open; and

FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 21-21 in FIG. 20.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a network cabinet 10 according tothe present invention is shown. In the embodiment shown, the networkcabinet generally includes a base frame 100, top cover 200, side panels300, back doors 400, and front door 500. When fully assembled, theexemplary network cabinet is approximately 32 inches wide, 40 inchesdeep, and 84 inches high and has 45 rack units with a 2.000 pound loadrating.

Referring to FIG. 2A, an exemplary base frame 100 of the network cabinet10 is shown. In this embodiment, the base frame 100 is conductive andgenerally includes a pair of front vertical frame rails 105, a pair ofback vertical frame rails 110, a pair of front to back base beams 115, apair of side to side base beams 120, a pair of front to back top beams125, a pair of side to side top beams 130, and front to back supportbeams 135, all of which are typically steel but can be made of anysuitable conductive or non-conductive material. As can be seen in FIGS.1 and 2A and as described in more detail below, the front and backvertical frame rails 105, 110 are inset from side panels 300, back doors400, front door 500, and the corners of the network cabinet 10 that areformed by side panels 300, back doors 400, and front door 500. Thisinset provides unobstructed space along all of the sides of the networkcabinet 10 for cable management pathways.

In the embodiment shown, the side to side base beams 120 have arectangular cross-section geometry and are positioned between andperpendicular to the front to back base beams 115, which also have arectangular cross-section geometry. The side to side base beams 120 arewelded to the front to back base beams 115 and, along with the doormounts 15, form a base member for the network cabinet and defineopenings 123, as seen in FIG. 2D as the cross-hatched areas. The frontvertical frame rails 105 and back vertical frame rails 110 have agenerally “C” shaped cross-section geometry and are positionedvertically on the front to back base beams 115 and welded to the frontto back base beams 115. The space created by setting frame rails 105,110 back from the side panels 300 provides cable management pathwaybetween the frame rails 105, 110 and the side panels 300 when thenetwork cabinet is fully assembled. The side to side top beams 130 havea generally “U” shaped cross-section geometry and are positioned betweenand perpendicular to the front to back top beams 125, which have agenerally “C” shaped cross-section geometry. The side to side top beams130 are welded to the front to back top beams 125 to form a support forthe top cover and are supported by vertical frame rails 105, 110. Thefront to back top beams 125 are positioned at the top end of the frontand back vertical frame rails 105, 110 and wielded to the front and backvertical frame rails 105, 110. The front and back vertical frame rails105, 110 are positioned so that they are set back from the correspondingends of the front to back base beams 115. The space created by settingthe frame rails 105, 110 back from the ends of the front to back basebeams 115 provides a cable management pathway between the frame rails105, 110 and the front and back doors 500, 400 when the network cabinetis fully assembled.

In the embodiment shown, the front to back support beams 135 have agenerally “C” shaped cross-section geometry, are positioned between andperpendicular to corresponding front and back vertical frame rails 105,110, and are welded to the front and back vertical frame rails 105, 110.By welding together all of the steel components of the base frame 100,the base frame 100 is a single conductive, bonded unit. In addition, inthis example, a ground whip 25 is bonded to front to back top beam 125and is, in turn, connected at its opposing end to a main buildingground. Ground whip 25 can also be attached to any other base frame 100structural member to provide a single ground point for the base frame100.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, a pair of steel door mounts 15 are shownthat have a generally “L” shaped cross-section geometry. Door mounts 15are used to support the back and front doors 400, 500, and in theexample shown the generally horizontal portion of the “L” shaped doormounts 15 create a threshold 19 that back and front doors 400, 500 rideover. Door mounts 15 and base frame 100 together form a support framefor network cabinet 10. Each door mount 15 is attached to an end of eachfront to back base beam 115 by bolts 30 that extend through holes 16 inthe door mounts 15 and thread into nuts 40 that are welded to end caps(not shown), which are attached and bonded to the ends of the front toback base beams 115, such as by welding. In addition, as shown in FIG.2B, at one of the two attachment points the door mount 15 is also bondedto the front to back base beam 115 by placing an internal tooth lockwasher 35 between the bolt 30 and the door mount 15. The bolt 30 isinserted through the internal tooth lock washer 35 and through a hole 16in the door mount 15 and is threaded into nut 40. The internal toothlock washer 35 has teeth that pierce the paint or coating on the doormount 15 and bite into the metal of the door mount 15 to provide aground path between the door mount 15 and the front to back base beam115 through washer 35, bolt 30, and nut 40. An anti-oxidant paste couldalso be placed on the door mount 15, between the door mount 15 and lockwasher 35, to prevent possible corrosion where the teeth of the lockwasher 35 bite into the metal of the door mount 15. Alternatively, aregular washer could be used and the area around the hole 16 could bemasked off or a serrated head bolt could be used in place of the bolt 30and internal tooth lock washer 35 to similarly provide a bond betweendoor mount 15 and front to back base beam 115 if bonding is desired.

Although the various elements of base frame 100 and door mounts 15 havebeen described above as having a particular geometry, being made of aparticular material, and having particular connections, it will beunderstood that each of these elements could be made of varyinggeometries, varying materials, and connected by any suitable means as aparticular application requires. For example, rather than using doormounts 15 that are bolted to the base member, door mounts 15 could bewelded to the base member or be formed as an integral part of the basemember.

Referring to FIGS. 2A, 2C, and 3, in this embodiment steel adjustableequipment rails 20 are shown that have a generally “L” shapedcross-section geometry and are used to mount equipment, such as patchpanels, switches, or other network hardware equipment (not shown) in thenetwork cabinet. Adjustable equipment rails 20 can also be made of othermaterials and have other geometries as required by a particularapplication. As can best be seen in FIG. 3, the equipment rails 20 eachhave a series of mounting holes 23 that are used to mount equipment tothe equipment rails 20. In one example, the mounting holes 23 can betapped holes that are threaded to accept a mounting bolt or screw (notshown) or in another example can be square holes that are adapted toaccept a caged nut, which will then accept a mounting bolt or screw. Inaddition, as described in more detail below, the equipment rails 20 canbe adjusted in relation to the frame rails 105, 110 by sliding themforward and backward along the front to back support beams 135. Theequipment rails 20 enable equipment to be mounted at four points and inthe exemplary network cabinet 10 can accommodate mounting depths of upto 25.9 inches.

Each equipment rail 20 can extend approximately from a front to backbase beam 115 to the corresponding front to back top beam 125 and isconnected to each of the three front to back support beams 135 which areeach positioned at different elevations opposing sides of the base frame100. In this embodiment, the equipment rails are connected to two of thefront to back support beams 135 by inserting a bolt 45 through a hole 21in one side of the equipment rail 20 and through a slot 140 (see FIG.2C) in the front to back support beams 135 so that the threaded end ofthe bolt 45 extends into a channel 145 formed by the front to backsupport beam 135. A jam-nut 55 is positioned within the channel 145 andthe bolt is threaded into the jam-nut 55. The jam-nut 55 here has anoblong configuration in which the length of the jam-nut 55 is greaterthan the width of the channel 145 thereby preventing rotation of thejam-nut 55 within the channel 145. The use of the jam-nut 55 allows thebolt 45 to be tightened without the need for a wrench or other tool tohold the nut securely within the channel 145. In addition, the use ofbolt 45 and jam-nut 55 allows easy loosening of the connection betweenthe adjustable equipment rails 20 and the front to back support beams135, allowing for easy adjustment of the equipment rails 20 along frontto back support beam 135.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2C and 3, in this embodiment at the thirdconnection of equipment rail 20 to a front to back support beam 135, theconnection is bonded by placing an internal tooth lock washer 50 betweenthe bolt 45 and the equipment rail 20 and a second internal tooth lockwasher 51 between the jam-nut 55 and the front to back support beam 135.The internal tooth lock washers 50, 51 have teeth that pierce the paintor coating and bite into the metal of the equipment rail 20 and front toback support beams 135. An anti-oxidant paste could also be placed onthe equipment rail 20 and front to back support beam 135, underneath thelock washers 50, 51, to prevent possible corrosion where the teeth ofthe lock washers 50, 51 bite into the metal of the equipment rail 20 andfront to back support beam 135. This provides a ground path from theequipment rail 20 to the front to back support beams 135 through thebolt 45, washers 50, 51, and jam-nut 55. This bonding makes adjustmentof the equipment rails 20 more convenient since there are no jumperwires to disconnect and reconnect when the equipment rails 20 are moved.Alternatively, regular washers could be used and the area around thehole in the adjustable equipment rail 20 and the slot 140 in the frontto back support beam 135 could be masked off or a serrated head boltcould be used in place of the bolt 45 and lock washer 50 if bonding isdesired.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in this embodiment the top cover 200 isgenerally rectangular steel sheet having rolled over edges that ispositioned on the front to back top beams 125 and side to side top beams130 and secured to the front to back top beams 125. Four steel threadedmembers 230 are welded to the bottom side of the top cover 200 andextend from the bottom side of the top cover 200 such that they alignwith holes or slots (not shown) in the top surfaces of the front to backtop beams 125. The threaded members 230 are aligned with and insertedinto the holes in the front to back top beams 125 such that they extendthrough the holes. On three of the threaded members 230, hex nuts 235are threaded onto the threaded members 230 to secure the top cover 200.On the fourth threaded member 230, the top cover 200 is also bonded tothe front to back top beam 125 by placing an internal tooth lock washer240 between the hex nut 235 and the front to back top beam 125. Ananti-oxidant paste could also be placed on the front to back top beam125, underneath the lock washer 240, to prevent possible corrosion wherethe teeth of the lock washer 240 bites into the metal of the front toback top beam 125. This provides a ground path from the top cover 200 tothe front to back top beam 125 through the threaded member 230, hex nut235, and lock washer 240. Alternatively, a regular washer could be usedand the area around the hole in the front to back top beam 125 could bemasked off or an internal tooth hex nut could be used in place of hexnut 235 and lock washer 240 if bonding is desired. In addition, topcover 200 could be constructed of any geometry and material and beconnected via any means appropriate for a given application.

Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the top cover 200 also has a centerknockout 205 and multiple cable entry knockouts 210. The center knockout205 can be removed to form an opening in top cover 200 to provide accessto and ventilation for a fan mounted in the cabinet, for louvers, forcable entry, etc. and the cable entry knockouts 210 can be removed toform openings in top cover 200 to provide cable entry access in anover-head cable deployment application.

In this particular embodiment, each knockout 205, 210 is formed bycutting a slot 215 through the top cover 200 around the periphery ofeach knockout 205, 210. The slot 215 is cut almost completely around theperiphery of each knockout 205, 210, except for the areas of the joiningwebs 225, which connect the main portion of the top cover 200 to theknockouts 205, 210 and hold the knockouts 205, 210 in place prior toremoval. Each knockout 205, 210 has a minimum of four joining webs 225,as shown in FIG. 5B. The use of at least four joining webs 225 securelyholds the knockouts 205, 210 in place in the installed position, whereastypical larger-size knockouts in sheet-metal components have beenloosely held with only two joining webs and have been susceptible toinadvertent removal. In addition, at the end of each portion of the slot215, there is an enlarged opening 220, which is sized to accept commonhand tool cutters that can be used to cut the joining webs 225, whichmakes removal of the knockouts 205, 210 easier.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 6, four leveling legs 60 extend below thefront to back base beams 115 to provide support and leveling capabilityfor the network cabinet. As can best be seen in FIG. 6, in thisembodiment each leveling leg 60 has a top portion 61 that extendsthrough the top surface of the front to back base beam 115 and isaccessible above the front to back base beam 115. The top portion 61 hasa hexagonal or other cross-section that can be used with a socket wrenchor other similar tool to raise and lower the leveling legs 60, asdescribed below. Alternatively, the top portion 61 could be slotted sothat it can be used with a screwdriver or other similar tool to raiseand lower the leveling legs 60. Each leveling leg 60 also has a threadedbody portion 63. The threaded body portion 63 is threaded through a nut65 that is welded to a leveling leg support 70, which is attached andbonded to the front to back base beam 115, such as by welding. Thissecures the leveling leg 60 to the front to back base beam 115 andallows adjustment of the leveling leg 60, as discussed below. The foot64 of the leveling leg is positioned below the front to back base beam115 and is the portion of the leveling leg 60 that rests on the groundor floor to provide support.

With this construction, to adjust the height or level the networkcabinet, a socket wrench or other similar tool is placed on the topportion 61 and the leveling leg 60 is rotated. As the leveling leg 60 isrotated, the interaction of the threaded body portion 63 and the nut 65will raise or lower the leveling leg 60 depending on the direction ofrotation. In this fashion, adjustment of the height of the front to backbase beam 115 off of the floor can be accomplished. Being able to accessand rotate the leveling legs 60 from the top allows the leveling legs 60to be easily adjusted without having to tip or move the network cabinet.It also assists with the installation/removal of optional casters, whichis discussed in more detail below. Furthermore, when casters are notinstalled, the leveling legs 60 can be fully retracted into the front toback base beams 115 so that the front to back base beams 115 and side toside base beams 120 will sit on the ground and the cabinet load will bedistributed.

Referring to FIGS. 7A, 7B, 8A, and 9, the side panels 300 in thisembodiment are generally rectangular sheet steel that can be solid orperforated for aesthetics and air flow. Alternatively, rather than usinga single side panel 300 per side of the network cabinet, multiple sidepanels could be used on each side and various geometries, materials, anddesigns could be used depending on the particular application. Inaddition, rather than side panels, additional doors could also be usedon the sides of the cabinet, depending on the application andaccessibility desired. In this example, side panels 300 have hooks 305attached to the bottom inside surface of side panels 300 and latches 315attached to the top of side panels 300.

To mount the side panels 300, a bar 310 is attached between the frontand back door mounts 15 by end brackets 312. The bar 310 is alsosupported near its center by center bracket 311, which is attached tothe front to back base beam 115. As can best be seen in FIGS. 8A and 9,the hooks 305 are placed over the bar 310 to support the side panel 300and the side panel 300 is aligned. The side panel 300 is then rotatedinto a vertical position and the latches 315 secure the side panel 300to a side flange 202 of the top cover 200. Alternatively, the latches315 can also have a locking assembly that allows the latches 315 to belocked into position once the side panels 300 have been mounted.

As can best been seen in FIG. 7B, in this embodiment a center bracket320 is attached and bonded to the center front to back support beam 135and side brackets 325 are attached and bonded to a front vertical framerail 105 and a back vertical frame rail 110. Trilobular screws 330 canbe inserted through holes 321 in the brackets 320, 325 and threaded intothe front to back support beam 135 and vertical frame rails 105, 110,securing the brackets 320, 325 to the front to back support beam 135 andvertical frame rails 105, 110. The trilobular screws 330 can also beused to bond to the front and back support beam 135 and vertical framerails 105, 110 by cutting threads into the metal of the front to backsupport beam 135 and vertical frame rails 105, 110. An area around theholes 321 in the brackets 320, 325 is masked and left unpainted, therebyalso bonding the trilobular screws 330 to the brackets 320, 325.Alternatively, rather than masking portions around the holes 321, atrilobular screw having teeth on the underside of the head that will cutinto the metal of the brackets 320, 325 can be used if bonding isdesired.

In this embodiment, the brackets 320, 325 provide support for the sidepanels 300 and offset the side panels 300 from the front and backvertical frame rails 105, 110 and front to back support rails 135,thereby providing easily accessible vertical cable management pathwaysbetween the side panels 300 and the front and back vertical frame rails105, 100 and front to back support rails 135. In addition, brackets 325on each side of bracket 320 provide a guide or channel for placingcables extending in a vertical direction within the cabinet andproximate to the respective corners of the cabinet. Alternatively,brackets 320, 325 could be removed if not needed for a particularapplication.

Referring to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, in this embodiment the side panels300 are bonded to top cover 200 through a grounding clip 335. Thegrounding clip 335 is attached to a masked, unpainted portion of theside flange 202 of the top cover 200. Each side panel 300 also has amasked, unpainted portion of the inside surface that contacts thegrounding clip 335 and compresses the grounding clip 335 once the sidepanel 300 is latched in place. The contact of the grounding clip 335with the masked, unpainted portions of the top cover 200 and side panel300 bonds each side panel 300 to the top cover 200.

Alternatively, rather than using grounding clips 335 to bond the sidepanels 300 to the top cover 200, the side panels 300 could be bonded tothe base frame 100 through the bar 310 and hooks 305. To provide bondingin this manner, one of the end brackets 312, which is welded to the bar310, would be attached to a door mount 15 so that a bond is created andone of the hooks 305 would be attached to the side panel 300 so that abond is created, such as by welding or the use of internal tooth lockwashers, trilobular screws, paint masking, etc, as described throughout.A bond would then be created between the bar 310 and the bonded hook 305by paint masking the bar 310 in the area that will contact the hook 305.

Referring to FIG. 10A, in this embodiment back doors 400 are mounted tothe back of network cabinet 10 between top cover 200 and back door mount15. In the example shown, back doors 400 are split doors and aregenerally rectangular sheet steel that can be solid or perforated foraesthetics and air flow. Alternatively, rather than using split doors, asingle back door or any other type of door having various geometries andbeing made of various materials could be used depending on theparticular application. Here, each of the back doors 400 hinges open onpins at the top and bottom of the outside corners of back doors 400.

Referring to FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C, in the example shown, one of theback doors 400 has a latch mechanism 405 that secures the door to topcover 200 and back door mount 15. Latch mechanism 405 has a door handle410 that is accessible from the outside of back door 400 and can alsohave a cylinder lock 430 that can lock door handle 410 in the closedposition. On the inside of back door 400′, door handle 410 is connectedto a cam plate 415 that can rotate as door handle 410 is rotated. Anupper rod 420 is attached to one end of cam plate 415 and a lower rod425 is attached to the other end of cam plate 415, opposite upper rod420. Upper rod 420 extends generally vertically from cam plate 415 up totop cover 200 and lower rod 425 extends generally vertically from camplate 415 down to door mount 15. When in the closed position, upper rod420 extends into a hole in top cover 200 and lower rod 425 extends intoa hole in door mount 15, thereby securing the back door closed.

In the example shown in FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C, one of the back doors400′ has a latch mechanism 405 and the opposite back door 400″ isoverlapped by back door 400′ with the latch mechanism to hold it in theclosed position. Alternatively, rather than overlapping, both back doors400′, 400″ could have latch mechanisms 405.

In another example, shown in FIGS. 10D, 10E, and 10F, one of the backdoors 400′ again has a latch mechanism 405A that secures the door to topcover 200 and back door mount 15. Latch mechanism 405A has a door handle(not shown) that is accessible from the outside of back door 400′ andcan also have a cylinder lock 430A that can lock the door handle in theclosed position. On the inside of back door 400′, the door handle isconnected to a cam plate 415A that can rotate as the door handle isrotated. An upper rod 420A is attached to one end of cam plate 415A anda lower rod 495A is attached to the other end of cam plate 415A,opposite tipper rod 420A. Upper rod 420A extends generally verticallyfrom cam plate 415A up to top cover 200 and lower rod 425A extendsgenerally vertically from cam plate 415A down to door mount 15. When inthe closed position, upper rod 420A extends into a hole in top cover 200and lower rod 425A extends into a hole in door mount 15, therebysecuring the back door closed.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 10E and 10F, in the example shown, backdoors 400′, 400″ still overlap to hold the second door 400″ in theclosed position, but also have an additional feature to provide extrasecurity for the second door 400″. In the example shown, cam plate 415Ahas a locking arm 416 that extends outward from and generallyperpendicular to the axis of rotation of cam plate 515A and back door400″ has a plate 460 that includes a slot 465, which is configured toreceive locking arm 416. Plate 460 can be a separate piece that isattached to back door 400″, such as by welding or screws, or plate 460can be integrally formed with back door 400″. In addition, locking arm416 can be shaped in a stair-step configuration towards back door 400′to move locking arm 416 away from the inside of network cabinet 10,which reduces the risk that locking arm 416 will pinch or catch cablesor wiring that are in cabinet 10.

As can be seen in FIG. 10E, when latch mechanism 405A is in an openposition, locking arm 416 extends downward and does not engage slot 465and back doors 400′, 400″ can be opened. Conversely, as can be seen inFIG. 10F, when latch mechanism 405A is moved to a closed position,locking arm 416 rotates until it is generally horizontal and engagesslot 465. When in this position, back door 400′ is secured by theoverlap of back door 400′ over back door 400″ and also by the engagementof locking arm 416 with slot 465.

Referring to FIG. 11, each of the back doors 400 can be bonded to topcover 200, and therefore to base frame 100, through a spring loadedhinge assembly 435, which includes a generally cylindrical body 440,hinge pin 445, release arm 455, and spring 450. Body 440 is steel, orother conductive material, and is welded to the inside surface of backdoor 400, which provides an electrical connection between body 440 andback door 400. Hinge pin 445 is steel, or other conductive material, andis positioned inside the body 440. Release arm 455 is generally “L”shaped, extends through a hole in the end of body 440, and threads intohinge pin 445. Spring 450 is generally made of a conductive material andis positioned inside of body 440 and is compressed between hinge pin 445and the end of body 440. Spring 450 biases hinge pin 445 outward frombody 440, allows hinge pin 445 to be retracted when release arm 455 ispulled, and is one way of providing an electrical connection betweenhinge pin 445 and body 440. Hinge pin 445 extends from the end of body440, through a hole in the top of back door 400 and through bushing 260in top cover 200, where hinge pin 445 contacts a thread forming screw255 that is bonded to top cover 200.

To bond thread forming screw 255 to top cover 200, a conductive groundangle 245 is welded to the inside surface of top cover 200 and threadforming screw 255 is threaded into ground angle 245 and into a nut 250that is welded to ground angle 245, thereby providing a bond between topcover 200 and screw 255.

To install or remove back door 400, release arm 455 is pulled downward,which compresses spring 450 and retracts hinge pin 445 into body 440.With hinge pin 445 below the level of bushing 260, back door 400 can beplaced in position or removed. Once back door 400 is in position,release arm 455 is released and spring 450 pushes hinge pin 445 outwardthrough bushing 260 until hinge pin 445 contacts screw 255.

In this example, spring loaded hinge assembly 435 provides the hingemechanism for back door 400 and also provides a positive grounding pathwhen back doors 400 are installed. This allows the removal of back doors400 without the need of disconnecting any grounding jumper wires.

Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in this example door mounts 15 also haveholes 18 that are inset from bushings 600 that receive the bottom fixedhinge pin for back doors 300. Although FIGS. 2A and 2B show door mount15 for front door 500, the two door mounts 15 are mirror images of eachother and door mount 15 for hack doors 400 contain identical holes 18.Referring to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 11, top cover 200 has holes 265 that areinset from bushings 260 that receive hinge pin 445 of spring loadedhinge mechanism 435. Each of the holes 18 in door mounts 15 is alignedin a generally vertical axis with a corresponding hole 265 in top cover200 and provide a storage mechanism for a back door 400 that has beenremoved.

For example, as described above, a back door 400 can be removed bypulling downward on release arm 455, which retracts hinge pin 445 andallows back door 400 to be tilted and removed. Rather than having tolean the removed back door 400 on cabinet 10 or against a wall or otherequipment where it can be bumped into or knocked over, the removed backdoor 400 can be stored using holes 18 and 265 in door mount 15 and topcover 200. To store the removed back door 400, the opposite back door isopened, the fixed hinge pin on the bottom of the removed back door 400is inserted into hole 18 in door mount 15 nearest bushing 600 of theopen back door, and hinge pin 445 of spring loaded hinge mechanism 435is inserted into the corresponding hole 265 in top cover 200 by pullingdownward on release arm 455.

Referring to FIG. 12A, in this embodiment front door 500 is mounted tothe front of network cabinet 10 between top cover 200 and front doormount 15. In the example shown, front door 500 is generally rectangularsheet steel that can be solid or perforated for aesthetics and air low,is dual hinged with retractable hinges, as described in more detailbelow, and can be opened from either the left or right side giving fullaccess to either the left or right rack and vertical cable managementchannels without having to remove front door 500. Alternatively, ratherthan using a single dual hinged door, split doors, a single hinged door,or any other type of door could be used as well and front door 500 couldbe made of any geometry and of any material and design as required for aparticular application.

Referring to FIG. 12A, in this example, front door 500 has two latchmechanisms 505, one on each side of front door 500, that operateindependently of each other. Latch mechanisms 505 have a door handle 510(as shown in FIG. 19), cam plate 515, upper rod 520 and lower rod 525,and are substantially identical in operation to latch mechanism 405described above for back doors 400 (see FIGS. 10B and 10C). Latchmechanisms 505 can also have a cylinder lock 530 (as shown in FIG. 19),which can lock door handle 510 in the closed position.

Referring to FIG. 12A, at each top and bottom corner of front door 500(four positions total) is a locking hinge assembly 535. FIGS. 12B and12D show locking hinge assemblies 535 on the bottom corners of frontdoor 500 and it will be understood that the assemblies on the topcorners are identical to those described herein for the bottom corners.FIG. 12C shows the backside of the locking hinge assembly shown in FIG.12B. Each locking hinge assembly 535 includes a hinge assembly, whichincludes hinge lever 540, hinge support 542, and hinge pin 545, and ablocking assembly, which includes inner lever stop 555 and outer leverstop 570. As used herein, inner lever stop 555 is the lever stop that isclosest to hinge pin 545 and outer lever stop 570 is the lever stop thatis furthest from hinge pin 545.

Hinge support 542 has a generally vertical wall 543 that is attached tofront door 500, such as by welding, with screws, etc. and a generallyhorizontal wall 544 that extends generally perpendicular from the top ofvertical wall 543. Hinge lever 540 is mounted to vertical wall 543 ofhinge support 542 by pin 560 such that lever arm 540 can rotate aboutpin 560. Hinge lever 540 is also rotatably connected to a lower rod 525(or upper rod 520 depending on which locking hinge assembly) at one endand to hinge pin 545 at the end opposite lower rod 525. Hinge pin 545extends generally vertically through front door 500 and throughhorizontal wall 544.

A lever stop hinge pin 550, as seen in FIG. 12C, is attached to frontdoor 500 and lever stops 555, 570 are mounted onto lever stop hinge pin550 such that lever stops 555, 570 can rotate about hinge pin 550. Eachlever stop 555, 570 has a generally vertical stop arm 556, 571 and agenerally horizontal release arm 557, 572. A torsion spring 565, orother resilient member, is mounted on lever stop hinge pin 565 and hasends that extend out to stop arms 556, 571 of lever stops 555, 570 tobias lever stops 555, 570 into a forward position.

In operation, when front door 500 is closed (the closed position isdefined as both top corners of front door 500 seated against top cover200 and both bottom corners of front door 500 seated against door mount15) upper and lower rods 520, 525 are pulled towards the center of frontdoor 500, thereby rotating lever arms 540 and extending hinge pins 545into their corresponding bushings 600 in door mount 15 or top cover 200.Therefore, hinge pins 545 in each of the four corners of front door 500engage bushings 600 in door mount 15 or top cover 200 and front door 500is fully secured. In addition, when in the closed position, door mount15 or top cover 200 will push against release arms 557, 572 of bothlever stops 555, 570, thereby moving stop arms 556, 571 of both leverstops 555, 570 out of the path of rotation of hinge lever 540. Thisallows hinge lever 540 to rotate freely in either direction. Referringspecifically to FIG. 12B, when a door handle is rotated from a closed toan open position lower rod 525 is lowered, hinge lever 540 is rotatedabout pin 560, and hinge pin 545 is retracted. This enables front door500 to be hinged open about hinge pins 545 on the opposite side, whichremain extended. Conversely, when lower rod 525 is raised (e.g. the doorhandle is moved from an open to a closed position), hinge lever 540 willrotate about pin 560 and extend hinge pin 545.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 12B and 12D, operation of locking hingeassemblies 535 is shown when the left side of the front door is unlockedand the front door is opened from left to right (as seen when facing thefront of network cabinet 10), as shown in FIG. 12A, FIG. 12B shows theoperation of locking hinge assemblies 535 on the side of front door 500that remains engaged (hinge pins 545 extended), and FIG. 12D shows theoperation of locking hinge assemblies 535 on the side of front door 500that is disengaged (hinge pins 545 retracted).

Referring to FIG. 12B, when front door 500 is moved from the closedposition door mount 15 no longer pushes against release arms 557, 572 oflever stops 555, 570 and torsion spring 565 attempts to push lever stops555, 570 into a forward position. Because hinge lever 540 is still inthe locked position, inner lever stop 555 is blocked by hinge lever 540and cannot rotate forward. However, outer lever stop 570 is notobstructed by hinge lever 540 and is pushed into a forward position bytorsion spring 565. When outer lever stop 570 is in the forwardposition, stop arm 571 is positioned underneath hinge lever 540, therebypreventing hinge lever 540 from rotating. Therefore, in this position,if a user were to attempt to turn the door handle (attempting to movelower rod 525 downward) stop arm 571 prevents hinge lever 540 frommoving, thereby preventing the door handle from being moved. Thisprevents an engaged hinge from being accidentally disengaged if theopposing hinge is disengaged and front door 500 is open. Should thisaccidental disengagement not be prevented, front door 500 could easilyfall onto and injure a person positioned in front of network cabinet 10.

Referring to FIG. 12D to move front door 500 from the closed positionlocking hinge mechanisms 535 on the side to be opened must bedisengaged. When a user turns the door handle lower rod 525 is pusheddown, which rotates hinge lever 540 and pulls back hinge pin 545. Afterlocking hinge mechanisms 535 have been disengaged and front door 500 ismoved from the closed position, door mount 15 no longer pushes againstrelease arms 557, 572 of lever stops 555, 570 and torsion spring 565attempts to push lever stops 555, 570 into a forward position. Becausehinge lever 540 has been moved from the locked position, outer leverstop 570 is blocked by hinge lever 540 and cannot rotate forward.However, inner lever stop 555 is not obstructed by hinge lever 540 andis pushed into a forward position by torsion spring 565. When innerlever stop 555 is in the forward position, stop arm 556 is positionedunderneath hinge lever 540, thereby preventing hinge lever 540 fromrotating. Therefore, in this position, if a user were to attempt to turnthe door handle (attempting to move lower rod 525 upward) stop arm 557prevents hinge lever 540 from moving, thereby preventing the door handlefrom being moved. This prevents the closing of the door handle untilfront door 500 is in the fully closed position such that lever stop 555has been pushed backward thereby unobstructing hinge lever 540 allowinghinge pin 545 to be lowered through and fully engage bushing 600.

As can be seen from the above description, locking hinge assemblies 535require that front door 500 be in a closed position before the user canchange the state of front door 500 (e.g. engage or disengage lockinghinge assemblies 535). This accomplishes two important goals: (1) itprevents unexpected and accidental removal of front door 500 (when oneside is open, the other side is locked and cannot be disengaged untilfront door 500 is closed): and (2) it prevents a user from mistakenlythinking that front door 500 is closed when it is still ajar (the doorhandle cannot be moved into the closed position until front door 500 iscompletely closed and the lever stops allow movement of the hingelever).

To remove front door 500, front door 500 is first placed in the closedposition. In this position all of the inner and outer lever stops 555,570 of all locking hinge assemblies 535 are pushed into a retractedposition allowing all hinge levers 540 to move freely. While in theclosed position, both of the door handles are turned which willdisengage all locking hinge assemblies 535 by extending upper and lowerrods 520, 525 and retracting hinge pins 545 from their respectivebushings 260, 600, allowing removal of front door 500. Once front door500 has been removed, inner lever stops 555 are moved into their forwardposition by torsion spring 565, thereby obstructing hinge lever 540 andpreventing the door handles from being turned. To install front door500, the above process is reversed. Front door 500 is placed againstdoor mount 15 and top cover 200 such that hinge pins 545 are alignedwith their respective bushings 260, 600. In this position, door mount 15and top cover 200 will push inner lever stops 555 backwards and out ofthe way of hinge lever 540, thereby allowing hinge lever 540 to movefreely. Both of the door handles are then turned to retract upper andlower rods 520, 525 and thereby extend hinge pins 545 into theirrespective bushings 260, 600.

Referring to FIG. 12E, the engagement between hinge pin 545 of frontdoor 500 and door mount 15 on one side of front door 500 is shown and itwill be understood that the engagement between the hinge pin 545 anddoor mount 15 on the opposite lateral side of front door 500 will be thesame. Hinge pin 545 extends through and engages a bushing 600 that ispositioned in a hole in the top of door mount 15. In this example, alifting screw 605 is aligned with hinge pin 545, is threaded into thebottom portion of door mount 15 just below bushing 600 that engageshinge pin 545, and provides bearing surface 607 that contacts the bottomof hinge pin 545 and provides a surface for hinge pin 545 to ride on. Asthe door handle is moved into the closed position, hinge pin 545 movesdown through bushing 600 and contacts bearing surface 607 of liftingscrew 605. Hinge pin 545 continues to move downward and lifts front door500 off of bushing 600 when hinge pin 545 is in the fully extendedposition. Therefore, front door 500 is elevated and rides on hinge pin545 rather than bushing 600, which provides clearance between front door500 and threshold 19 of door mount 15 when closing front door 500 andcompensates for door sag and/or worst case tolerance stack-ups. Inaddition, the elevation of lifting screw 605 can be adjusted to adjustthe rise of front door 500 over threshold 19 of door mount 15.Alternatively, rather than using a lifting screw, a bushing that isaligned with hinge pin 545 and has a bearing surface that contacts hingepin 545 can be inserted into an hole in the bottom portion of door mount15 to elevate front door 500. Furthermore, rather than the use of alifting screw or bushing, door mount 15 could be designed such that itprovides the bearing surface. For example, the bottom portion of doormount 15 could be formed at such a height that the upper surface of thebottom portion provides the bearing surface that contacts hinge pin 545and raises front door 500.

In the example described above, with the weight of front door 500 ridingon hinge pins 545 (rather than on bushings 600), there is a constantforce on bottom hinge pins 545 attempting to push hinge pins 545 into aretracted position. If door handle 510 is not fully engaged when frontdoor 500 is in the closed position, the force on hinge pins 545 couldcause door handle 510 to rotate towards an open position and possiblydisengage locking hinge assemblies 535. To prevent this from happeningan overcam latch mechanism can be used. Referring to FIGS. 12F and 12G,overcam latch mechanism 505A is substantially identical to latchmechanisms 505 described above in that it has a door handle (not shown),a cam plate 515A connected to the door handle such that the door handleand cam plate 515A rotate together about an axis of rotation, and upperand lower rods 520, 525 that are rotatably connected to lobes of camplate 515A such that they each rotate about axes of rotation. The maindifference between latch mechanism 505 and latch mechanism 505A is thedesign of cam plate 515A. Cam plate 515 in latch mechanism 505 has lobesthat are aligned and extend outward from the axis of rotation of camplate 515 and the door handle. Conversely, cam plate 515A in overcamelatch mechanism 505A has lobes 517, 518 that are generally perpendicularto each other and extend outward from the axis of rotation of cam plate515A and the door handle.

As can best be seen in FIG. 12G, when front door 500 and the door handleare in the closed position and locking hinge assemblies 535 are engaged,the lobe 517 that is connected to lower rod 525 (and therefore bottomhinge pin 545) is extending substantially vertically and the lobe 518that is connected to upper rod 520 (and therefore upper hinge pin 545)is extending substantially horizontally. In operation, a force exertedon lower hinge pin 545 that attempts to retract hinge pin 545 (such asthe weight of front door 500 riding on hinge pin 545) will place adownward force on lower rod 525. However, since lobe 517 is orientedvertically, this downward force on lower rod 525 will not cause camplate 515A (and therefore the door handle) to rotate. In order to rotatethe door handle and cam plate 515A, a positive rotational force must beplaced on the door handle to move the door handle into an open positionand move lobe 517 from a vertical position to a horizontal position andlobe 518 from a horizontal position to a vertical position. This designprevents cam plate 515A and door handle from rotating due to the forceexerted by the weight of front door 500 on lower hinge pin 545.

Referring to FIG. 13, in this embodiment front door 500 is also bondedto top cover 200 by spring loaded bearing assemblies 610. Two springloaded bearing assemblies 610 are positioned one at opposite corners oftop cover 200, one near each bushing 600 and hinge pin 545. Inpositioning spring loaded bearing assembly 610 near hinge pin 545,bearing assembly 610 maintains contact with front door 500 as front door500 is swung to an open position. By using two bearing assemblies 610,front door 500 stays bonded to top cover 200 when closed, open to theleft, or open to the right. Each spring loaded bearing assembly 610 hasa generally cylindrical body 615, a ball bearing 620, a face plate 625,and a spring 630. Body 615 is steel or another conductive material andhas external threads that permit body 615 to be screwed into paintmasked compatible threads in top cover 200 until steel face plate 625 isflush with top cover 200, which provides a bond between spring loadedbearing assembly 610 and top cover 200. Ball bearing 620 is steel orother conductive material and is biased towards face plate 625 byconductive spring 630 and protrudes beyond face plate 625 so that itcontacts the top of front door 500. The top of front door 500 is maskedwhere ball bearing 620 will contact front door 500, which provides abond between bearing assembly 610 and front door 500. The bearingassemblies are positioned close enough to bushing 600 and hinge pin 545so that front door 500 can open to approximately 160 degrees whilemaintaining the bond between front door 500 and top cover 200. The useof bearing assemblies 610 to create the bond between front door 500 andtop cover 200 allows for the removal of front door 500 without the needto disconnect any jumper wires.

Alternatively, as can be seen in FIGS. 12B and 12E, rather than bondingfront door 500 to base frame 100 through a spring loaded bearingassembly 610 in the top cover 200, front door 500 can be bonded to baseframe 100 through locking hinge assemblies 535 and lifting screws 605 indoor mount 15, which is bonded to base frame 100, as discussed above. Tobond front door 500 in this manner, lifting screw 605 is first bonded todoor mount 15. This can be done by using a trilobular lifting screw, byplacing an internal tooth lock washer between the head of the liftingscrew and the door mount, by using a lifting screw that has teeth on theunder side of the head, or by paint masking the portion of the doormount that will contact the head of the lifting screw. Hinge pins 545are then bonded to front door 500, such as by attaching a jumper wirebetween hinge pins 545 and front door 500. Therefore, when hinge pins545 contact lifting screws 605, a bond is created between front door 500and door mount 15 through the jumper wire, hinge pins 545, and liftingscrews 605. Alternatively, if bushings are used in place of liftingscrews 605, as described above, the bushings could be electricallyconnected to door mount 15 to provide the electrical connection betweenthe hinge pin 545 and door mount 15. For example, an internal tooth lockwasher could be place between the head of the bushing and door mount 15,the bushing could have teeth on the under side of the head, or the areaof door mount 15 that will contact the bushings could be paint masked.

As can be seen from the detailed descriptions above, in this embodimentwhen network cabinet 10 is fully assembled all of the components of thecabinet are bonded together. The components that make up base frame 100are all bonded by welding them together. Door mounts 15, equipment rails20, and top cover 200 are bonded to the base frame by use of internaltooth lock washers, trilobular screws, etc. Side panels 300 are bondedto top cover 200 by use of grounding clips 335. Back doors 400 aregrounded to top cover 200 by spring loaded grounding hinge mechanisms435. Finally, front door 500 is grounded to top cover 200 by springloaded bearing assemblies 610 or through locking hinge assemblies 535.By bonding all of the components of the cabinet together, separategrounding jumper wires are not required and network cabinet 10 iscompletely grounded and requires only a single point of contact with themain building ground (e.g. ground whip 25).

Referring to FIG. 14A, network cabinet 10 can also include casterassemblies 700, cable management fingers 800, and slack managementspools 900.

Referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, in this example caster assemblies 700are mounted to the sides of front and back vertical frame rails 105,110, alleviating the need to tip or turn network cabinet 10 or baseframe 100 in order to install, remove, or repair caster assemblies 700.Caster assemblies 700 include a body 705, which is steel or otherconductive material and is formed by a first wall 710, a second wall 715that extends generally perpendicular to the attachment wall 710, and apair of support walls 720 that extend between first wall 710 and secondwall 715 to provide strength and rigidity to body 705.

A standard caster wheel 730 is attached to second wall 715 of body 705.First wall 710 of body 705 has a pair of holes 711 and a wall member 712that extends from first wall 710 to form a slot 713 between wall member712 and first wall 710.

As shown in FIG. 14B, to install caster assembly 700, base frame 100 israised by rotating leveling legs 60. First wall 710 of caster assembly700 is placed against back vertical frame rail 10 such that wall member712 extends into an aperture 111 in vertical frame rail 110. Casterassembly 700 is then lowered such that a tongue 112 formed in aperture111 engages slot 713 formed between wall member 712 and first wall 710and holes 711 in first wall 710 are aligned with holes 113 that areformed in back vertical frame rail 110. A pair of bolts 725 are insertedthrough holes 711 in first wall 710 and holes 113 in back vertical framerail 110 and are threaded into a jam-nut 114 that is welded to backvertical frame rail 110. Base frame 100 is then lowered by rotatingleveling legs 60 until base frame 100 rests on caster assemblies 700. Inaddition to attaching caster assembly 700 to back vertical frame rail110, bolts 725 and jam-nut 114 can also provide bonding between casterassembly 700 and back vertical frame rail 110. To create the bond, bolts725 can have serrations or teeth on the underside of the head that bitethrough any paint into the metal of body 705 to provide a bond betweenbody 705 and bolts 725. Alternatively, standard bolts could also be usedwith internal tooth lock washers to provide the bond or standard boltscould be used and the area around holes 711 could be paint masked toprovide the bond if bonding is desired.

Referring to FIGS. 14A, 14A, and 15B, in this example multiple left handcable management units 800 and right hand cable management units 805,which are mirror images of each other, can be mounted to front and backsidewalls 165, 166 of front vertical frame rails 105A, 105B and backvertical frame rails 110A, 110B. As used herein, the front sidewalls 165of front and back vertical frames rails 105A, 105B, 110A, and 110B arethe sidewalls having outer surfaces that face outward from base frame100 and are directly accessible from the outside of base frame 100. Theback sidewalls 166 of front and back vertical frame rails 105A, 105B,110A, and 110B are the sidewalls having outer surfaces that are oppositethe surfaces of the front sidewalls, face inward towards the inside ofbase frame 100, and are generally accessible from the inside or sides ofbase frame 100. For convenience. FIG. 14A shows left and right handcable management units 800, 805 mounted only to the front and backsidewalls 165, 166 of front vertical frame rails 105A and 105B.

As described in more detail below, left hand cable management units 800would be mounted to the front sidewalls 165 of left side front verticalframe rail 105A (left side when facing the cabinet from the front) andleft side back vertical frame rail 110A (left side when facing thecabinet from the back) and to the back sidewalls 166 of right side frontvertical frame rail 105B and right side back vertical frame rail 110B.Right hand cable management units 805 would be mounted to the frontsidewalls 165 of right side front vertical frame rail 105B and rightside back vertical frame rail 110B and to the back sidewalls 166 of leftside front vertical frame rail 105A and left side back vertical framerail 110A. In this example, five cable management units 800, 805 can bemounted on the front sidewalls 165 of front and back vertical framerails 105A, 105B, 110A, and 110B and four cable management units 800,805 can be mounted in the back sidewalls 166 of front and back verticalframe rails 105A, 105B, 110A, and 110B.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 15A and 15B, in this example each cablemanagement unit 800, 805 is molded plastic and includes a base 810 andnine fingers 815 that protrude and extend from base 810. Each finger 815has a generally vertically oriented cable retainer 816 at its distal end(opposite the base 810) that prevents cables from spilling out offingers 815 and provides approximately 6.2 inches of cable managementlength (shown as A in FIG. 15A) between base 810 and cable retainers816. Each finger 815 has a semi-circular cross-section in which theoutside surface 820 (the surface that faces outside base frame 100 wheninstalled and will contact cables) is solid and has a bend radius ofapproximately 0.25 inches and inside surface 821 (the surface that facesinside base frame 100 when installed) is cored out to make fingers 815generally hollow. The bend radius of outside surface 820 provides forthe management of cable without any sharp corners which can damage thecables. Conversely, inside surface 821 does not generally contact thecables and therefore can be designed without bend radii and can be coredout for manufacturability purposes.

In the example shown, the spacing between the tops of adjacent fingers815 is approximately 1.75 inches (shown as B in FIG. 15 B), which isequivalent to one rack unit (“RU”). Each linger 815 has a height ofapproximately 0.5 inches, which provides approximately 1.25 inches ofcable management height (shown as C in FIG. 15B). The finger height andspacing combine to allow for management of 48 Cat 6 cables, 24 cat 6Acables, or other types of cabling, such as communication cabling, ineach RU. The area where base 810 meets each finger 815 also has a bendradius of approximately 0.3 inches.

Referring additionally to FIGS. 16A and 16B, in this example each cablemanagement unit 800, 805 includes buttons 825, or projections, thatprotrude from the back surface of base 810, opposite the fingers 815.Buttons 825 are adapted to engage corresponding apertures 150 in thesidewalls 165, 166 of front and back vertical frame rails 105, 110 tomount cable management units 800, 805 to vertical frame rails 105, 110.Buttons 825 each have a head portion 827 that has a size and shape suchthat the head portion 827 can be inserted through the upper portion ofapertures 150 and a neck portion 826 that has a size and shape such thatthe neck portion 826 fits in the lower portion of apertures 150, whichis smaller than the upper portion. In the example shown, buttons 825 andapertures 150 have a generally quadrilateral shape but could be anyshape required by a particular application. Head portions 827 of buttons825 are inserted into upper portions of corresponding apertures 150until head portion 827 protrudes completely through aperture 150. Cablemanagement unit 800, 805 is then pushed down such that neck portion 826engages the lower portion of aperture 150 to snap it into place. Headportion 827 is larger than the lower portion of aperture 150 andprevents cable management unit 800, 805 from being removed. This allowsthe manual assembly and removal of cable management units 800, 805 withno additional fasteners or tools. In addition, when multiple cablemanagement units are mounted, a gap of approximately 0.75 inches is leftbetween adjacent units to allow for removal of individual units withouthaving to remove units mounted above.

As can best been seen in the enlarged partial views in FIGS. 16A and16B, on each cable management unit 800, 805, one of the buttons 825 willalso include a protrusion 830 that extends laterally from one side ofthe button, typically from head portion 827. In the example shown,protrusion 830 extends from the top of the button and is skewed to theleft for left hand cable management units 800 and skewed to the rightfor right hand cable management units 805. This protrusion 830 isadapted to coincide with a slot 155 that extends from one side of anaperture 150, typically from the upper portion. One button on each cablemanagement unit 800, 805 will have a protrusion 830 and only selectedapertures 150 in vertical frame rails 105, 110 will have slots 155,which act as a keying feature to prevent cable management units 800, 805from being mounted on the wrong side of a vertical frame rail 105, 110or from being mounted upside down. Having slots 155 only inpredetermined apertures 150 also requires that cable management units800, 805 be mounted in predetermined positions. Alternatively, all ofthe buttons 825 could have protrusions 830 and all apertures 150 couldhave slots 155. This would allow the vertical positioning of the cablemanagement units 800, 805 anywhere along a vertical frame rail whilestill preventing the mounting on the wrong side of a vertical frame railor mounting upside down. In addition, to allow the mounting of cablemanagement units 800, 805 on either side of a vertical frame rail andanywhere along a vertical frame rail, there would be no protrusions onany of the buttons 825 and no slots on any of the apertures 150.Although protrusions on the buttons and slots in the apertures have beendescribed herein as the method for controlling where cable managementunits can be positioned along the vertical frame rails, it will beunderstood that other variations of the size and shape of the buttonsand apertures could also be used.

As can best be seen in FIGS. 15A, 15B, and 17, each cable managementunit 800, 805 can also have a cantilevered locking finger 835 formed inthe back surface of base 810. The outside surface of locking finger 835has a shallow inclined lead in face 840, which is angled from the backsurface approximately 20-40 degrees (lead in angle shown as D in FIG.17), and a steep inclined lead out face 845, which is angled from theback surface approximately 30-50 degrees (lead out angle shown as E inFIG. 17). Locking finger 835 and faces 840, 845 are adapted to engageand snap into a locking slot 160 in vertical frame rails 105, 110 (seeFIGS. 16A and 16B) to secure cable management units 800, 805 to verticalframe rails 105, 110. The shallow lead in angle D allows for easymounting of the cable management units 800, 805, while the steep leadout angle E provides more resistance so that cable management units 800,805 can be, but are not easily, removed.

Referring to FIGS. 14A, 18A, and 18B, slack management spools 900 canalso be mounted to front and back vertical frame rails 105, 110 viabrackets 905.

Referring specifically to FIG. 18B, a slack management spool 900 isshown that, in this example, is plastic and includes a generallycylindrical spool body 950, a stop wall 955 formed at one end of thespool body 950, and a monitoring wall 960 formed at the second end ofthe spool body 950 opposite the stop wall 955. The mounting wall 960 hasa pair of generally cylindrical protrusions 965 that are adapted toengage mounting holes in the brackets 905, as seen in FIG. 18A and asdiscussed in more detail below. Each of the protrusions 965 has a firstsection 966 that extends from the surface of the mounting wall 960 andhas a first dimension and a second section 967 at the end of the firstsection 966 that has a second dimension, which is greater than the firstdimension. In this example first section 966 and second section 967 aregenerally circular in design, wherein the first and second dimensionsare diameters.

Referring specifically to FIG. 18A, the mounting of a slack managementspool 900 to a front vertical frame rail 105 by a bracket 905 is shown.Bracket 905, in this example, is steel and is generally “L” shapedhaving a first wall 910 and a second wall 915 that extends generallyperpendicular to the first wall 910. Alternatively, bracket 905 could bemade in any geometry and of any material appropriate for a givenapplication. First wall 910 has a hole 911 and a wall member 912 thatextends from first wall 910 to form a slot 913 between wall member 912and first wall 910. Second wall 915 has a pair of mounting holes 916that are adapted to receive and secure the protrusions extending frommounting wall 960 of slack management spools 900.

To mount a bracket 905 to a front vertical frame rail 105, first wall910 of bracket 905 is placed against the front vertical frame rail 105such that wall member 912 extends into an aperture 106 in font verticalframe rail 105. Apertures 106 are positioned spaced apart along verticalframe rails 105, 110. In this example, four apertures 106 are providedin each vertical frame rail 105, 110, as can be seen in FIG. 14A.Bracket 905 is then lowered such that a tongue 107 formed in aperture106 engages slot 913 formed between wall member 912 and first wall 910.Bracket 905 is lowered until hole 911 in first wall 910 is aligned witha hole 108 formed in the front vertical frame rail 105. A trilobularscrew 920 can be inserted through hole 911 in first wall 910 and isthreaded into hole 108 in front vertical frame rail 105. Trilobularscrew 920 provides a bond to the front vertical frame rail 105 bycutting threads into the metal of front vertical frame rail 105. Toprovide a bond between trilobular screw 920 and bracket 905, trilobularscrew 920 has serrations or teeth on the underside of the head that biteinto the metal of bracket 905. Alternatively, a standard bolt could beused with an internal tooth lock washer or a standard bolt could be usedand the area around hole 911 could be paint masked and the area withhole 108 could be paint masked as well if bonding is desired.

Slack management spool 900 is then mounted to bracket 905 by insertingprotrusions 965 extending from mounting wall 960 through mounting holes916 in bracket 905 and sliding spool 900 downward until the firstsection 966 of protrusions 965 engage mounting holes 916.

Referring to FIGS. 19-21, there is shown two network cabinets 10 thatare ganged, or joined, together. To gang two network cabinets 10together the left side panel 300 of the right cabinet is removed and theright side panel 300 is removed from the left cabinet. The cabinets arethen positioned next to each other such that the sides with side panels300 removed are positioned adjacent one another. Top covers 200 of theadjacent network cabinets 10 are secured together by inserting boltsthrough holes in the adjacent side flanges 202 (not shown in FIGS.19-21) of top covers 200 and threading nuts onto the bolts to secure thetop covers 200 together. Generally “L” shaped steel brackets 660 arealso bolted or screwed to the adjacent ends of front and back doormounts 15. In addition, generally “U” shaped double spool brackets 970could also be attached between the adjacent front vertical frame rails105 and back vertical frame rails 110 of the ganged cabinets.

Referring specifically to FIG. 21, the cross hatched areas (side cablemanagement pathways 640 and center cable management pathway 650) showthe cables management pathways that are created as a result of insetframe structure of the network cabinets 10 when two network cabinets 10are ganged together. Side cable management pathways 640 are bounded byside panels 300 on the outside and front and back vertical frame rails105, 110 and front to back support beams 135 on the inside. Center cablemanagement pathway 650 is a larger cable management pathway that isbounded on the left and right by the adjacent front and back verticalframe rails 105, 110 and front to back support beams 135. Hinging frontdoors 500 outward (as shown in FIG. 21) provides clear access to centercable management pathway 650. Hinging front doors 500 inward providesclear access to the corresponding side cable management pathways 640,which can also be clearly accessed by removing the corresponding sidepanel 300.

1. An apparatus for mounting electronic equipment, comprising: a base frame including a vertical frame rail positioned spaced apart, along at least a portion of a length of the vertical frame rail, from at least two adjacent sidewalls and a corner of the apparatus formed by the two adjacent sidewalls, wherein each sidewall comprises one of a panel and a door; and an equipment rail mounted to the base frame by a threaded member and adjustable in a spaced apart relationship to the vertical frame rail; wherein the threaded member provides an electrical bond between the base frame and the equipment rail.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a washer positioned between the equipment rail and the threaded member such that the washer engages a masked portion of the equipment rail.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a washer positioned between the equipment rail and the threaded member, wherein the washer comprises a plurality of teeth that engage the equipment rail.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the threaded member comprises a plurality of teeth that engage the equipment rail.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the threaded member engages a masked portion of the equipment rail.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a nut is threaded onto the threaded member to secure the equipment rail to the base frame.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the nut is a jam-nut.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the nut engages a masked portion of the base frame.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the nut comprises a plurality of teeth that engage the base frame.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a washer positioned between the nut and the base frame such that the washer engages a masked portion of the base frame.
 11. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a washer positioned between the nut and the base frame, wherein the washer comprises a plurality of teeth that engage the base frame.
 12. A method of mounting an equipment rail to a base frame in a network cabinet, comprising the steps of: positioning a vertical frame rail of the base frame spaced apart, along at least a portion of a length of the vertical frame rail, from at least two adjacent sidewalls and a corner of the network cabinet formed by the two adjacent sidewalls, wherein each sidewall comprises one of a panel and a door; positioning the equipment rail adjacent the base frame and in a spaced apart relationship to the vertical frame rail of the base frame; inserting a threaded member through a hole formed in the equipment rail and through an opening formed in the base frame; threading a nut onto the threaded member; and providing an electrical bond between the equipment rail and the base frame through the threaded member and the nut.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the opening formed in the base frame is an elongated slot formed longitudinally along a front to back support beam of the base frame.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning the threaded member to engage a masked portion of the equipment rail.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning the threaded member such that a plurality of teeth formed on the threaded member engage the equipment rail.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning a washer between the threaded member and the equipment rail such that the washer engages a masked portion of the equipment rail.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning a washer between the threaded member and the equipment rail such that a plurality of teeth formed on the washer engage the equipment rail.
 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the nut is a jam-nut.
 19. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning the nut to engage a masked portion of the base frame.
 20. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning the nut such that a plurality of teeth formed on the nut engage the base frame.
 21. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning a washer between the nut and the base frame such that the nut engages a masked portion of the base frame.
 22. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of providing an electrical bond comprises positioning a washer between the nut and the base frame such that a plurality of teeth formed on the nut engage the base frame. 